Are Radar Detectors Useless?

It might be different in the UK but they are useful in reminding you where the fixed speed traps are but you still have to be on the look out for roving unmarked traffic enforcement vehicles.

The best clue as to where they are usually parked is to look for the straightest, safest piece of road you can find totally away from any housing that hasn't had any accidents.

Why are you bothered if your lawyer buddy 'fixes' them anyway? That sounds very useful. Expensive is it?

Mike Valentine has a pretty good explanation of what to expect from modern radar detectors. Click on the links on the left side.

You could just slow down...

Or use public transport.

Or get a used Lada.

Having been to Missouri a number of times, I'd have to adopt their state motto with respect to your suggestion of finding a used Lada: "Show me."

-- C.R. Krieger (Been there; ain't seen *that*)

It is somewhat expensive depending on the speed. I got one going 85mph in a 55mph zone and the fine was $186.50. Fixing it takes care of the points, but they still fine you. By contrast, the one I got going 54 in a 35 was only $79 as it was under 20mph over the limit. As long as my lawyer buddy doesn't get sick of my freeloading, I'm probably better off not spending $400 on a high end detector.

Never! Actually after each ticket I slow down but then the creep sets in and I gradually get back to full speed in a few days. I can't drive the 330i slow.

You could try slowing down. I know that hurts, but when one is truly desperate, then painful measures are close at hand.

You need a "wide band" radar detector that detects lots of kinds of "radar". These run FROM about $300. Yes, they work. They don't work nearly as well as pressing the pedal a bit softer though.

Yeah, BMWs just ask to be driven fast. I remember when I had just gotten my first one (a 78 528i) my sister asked me if she could borrow it. I said yes, but she needed to be careful because it wanted to drive fast. She just scoffed at that. When she came back, she spoke with a bit of awe in her voice saying, "You're right! It DOES want to drive fast!"

I have found a solution of sorts to avoid speeding. Cruise control works pretty well. It does keep your foot off the gas pedal. Or you could just drive in southern California during rush hour.

I had 1999 Audi 2.8 Quattro, then a 2002 Audi 3.0 Quattro and now a

2006 330i - sports package, 6 speed manual, silver. I never knew what loving a car was, I can't believe I wasted all those years on Audi's.

The utility I derive from fast driving outweighs the sting of the fines. Now when I lived in Atlanta, you couldn't get tickets fixed, seems to be a Missouri racket exclusively. I'm not complaining, but I'm sure State Farm is.

Well, slowing down is the simple answer. I've found most of my tickets over the years have been less from stretching the envelope as simple inattention. I probably know that the limit drops 10 mph, but I may be distracted at that exact moment and carry my speed an extra 100 yards. Of course, the cops know that and make sure they are scanning that 100 yards. Keep in mind that speeding fines are about revenue collection and not safety, and it's a lot easier to anticipate problem areas. Speedtraps are almost never in areas where safety issues exist. There are a couple of good books out on avoiding tickets that are worth a read. Usually written by ex-cops who help you understand the limitations and the mindset. Cops are creatures of habit, just like the rest of us.

Valentine 1 is still the standard. Now and then another model beats them in a test, but for my money, I'd buy the V1. I just haven't wanted one bad enough to spring for the $400 yet. But I don't drive as much as I used to when I was doing outside sales.

With a good radar detector, a low-profile vehicle and common sense, you can cover a lot of road quickly without attracting LEO attention.

Here in Texas the standard way to handle a ticket is to request deferred adjudication. Same cost as the ticket, but if you can keep from getting another ticket in the same town within 90 days, the ticket does not go on your record. I'm surprised that hasn't gone away.

I guess you guys don't drive on the I 95 corrador, if you aren't doing at least 80 you will get run over, or off the road, if not shot. Speeding without electornic support is just dumb, and you are just asking for another ticket. The only time I have gotten a ticket in the last 20 or so years, was on the Aprilia, without the V1. Trooper said 100+MPH in a 55 on the ticket. Since I never passed anyone, (road was clear), all I got was a speeding ticket, as opposed to a reckless charge. Anyway court = PBJ. pay the $550 fine and be on my merry way.

Lesson? Buy the detector, and think like a cop.

If you are driving the same speed as the majority of cars on any road you will not get pulled over. You do not need a radar detector unless a) you are driving faster than the crowd - or 2) you are driving on roads with little other traffic.

In the Northeast, even on I95, 10mph over the limit is a given. Driving

75mph on the interstate you will never get pulled over, even if you are the only car on the road. That also happens to coincide with the speed that traffic generally goes. There are some cars that will go faster.

BTW, if you were really driving 100+ on your bike you were most definitely going considerably faster than the average traffic. In most states a reckless charge is usually based on "speed over the limit" only (which is stupid) and does not need to take traffic or road conditions into account.

An old diesel car -- could be a Merc -- is better for keeping the speed down.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

"Dori A Schmetterling" wrote

Bill Gates got to keep driving, back in 1980, after getting

8-12 tickets (never new exactly) in his 911 when they were moving Microsoft from Albuquerque to Seattle. His mother got the judge to let him off if he would drive a Merc 300D exclusively. It was a slug.

FloydR

I live along the I-15 cooridor leading into San Diego County, and I also have to do 90 or die. I've been passed by the cops while doing 85, so I know they tend ot be a bit on the lenient side on occasion. Clearly, I am not a saint when it comes to observing traffic laws, but I've failed to attract attention to myself by lifting off the Go Pedal when I am not on the interstate. I think the OP hasn't got the descretion that I've got. He suggested that he has gotten several tickets, and is looking for a way to beat them or not get them in the first place. If one is prone to getting tickets, then one must be prone to speeding in places where the cops are not happy about it.

If this rationale is accurate, then it seems that slowing down is the premier action to be taking. The secondary action would be to go out and buy one of the multi-band radar detectors, the Valentine 1 was suggested in another post, that costs somewhere in the $400 range.

In Calif., any speed that is 30+ mph over the posted limit is considered wreckless driving. This can get your car immediately impounded.